war is coming. the league is bleeding, its ranks undone by unchecked hubris. the inevitable had come, but despite their preparations, the one future they couldn't have accounted for had come to fruition - their unkillable champion is dead. 

"it's a glorified tour," she says, reaching for the outstretched hand. "rika was accommodating, thank you, but i prefer to skip the pleasantries."

upon prying, she's heard much about the impassioned, studious nature of the woman before her. when prompted, rika had smiled earnestly and exuberantly, more than happy to chat about how lovely it is working with such a boss. 

a handshake is returned to the off-color poipole as well. she'd known ultra beasts could come in color variants like pokemon, but she hasn't seen the white and gold of a poipole yet. it's quite charming.

"i'd like to chat about the observatories projects and by proxy, its assets."

what lengths do we go to protect this place?

Neffatari Nzingha

☉

"really?" she says when she brings up the ultra beasts. her mind immediately goes to Yuina Higashi and her rogue naganadel, sent to track her down by a woman neither of them recognized. her own naganadel has not sight-shared with her like that, despite her asking in all the ways she could think of that might make sense to it. 

always, she got that same unimpressed flicker of neon in its cyan eyes. 

"i'd love to get whatever notes you have on naganadel when you have the time," she says firmly. a test of her own authority. 

she eyes the door and its sign and raises a brow, though doesn't comment.

"have you been through the rifts yourself? where they're found?"

Neffatari Nzingha

☉

they're not friendly when they're in their homeland, but that's much the case with other wild dragons. still, the hatchlings are curious little things, and freya finds herself smiling at the antics this one has with its trainer. 

"i've heard some of them have started to appear in lesser megalopolis as well."

she does not offer her own information. she does not tell her about the naganadel or its sight-sharing, or of the message it carried for a wayward woman, but she thinks it as they walk.

"you must be an adept trainer, going to the rifts yourself. many don't have it in them." curiosity begets her at the question. "i'd love to, but you'll have to explain what i'm seeing. i've never known much about the stars."

Neffatari Nzingha

☉

"i haven't either," she admits. her own poipole are from the ultra deep sea, but she's seen some of those that come from that other plane. the one where the broken sky pillar lay. 

it takes her a second to register why the name sounds so familiar and when it hits her, she straightens, blinking. "you knew Naomi Sato?" she asks. that name doesn't deliver her face in as much clarity as the visionary does. but the subject is changed, her chance to ask questions soured, and she tells herself she's content with letting it slide as she stoops over the telescope. 

two bright lights burn in the darkness. 

"does it ever make you feel small, looking up at them like this?"

Neffatari Nzingha

☉

even the draconid people did not look further than the ozone. their priests relied on xiekiv svantrelgr - the skycaller - to beckon their lord in times of need. but had they any idea, in the centuries before now, dealt with interdimensional skirmishers? aliens from outer realms?

she withdraws from the telescope and looks up with her naked eye. 

"there is power in the insignificant; so often is that which falls to the wayside underestimated." blood in her teeth, ruination on her blade, a fae realizing it's lost. she smiles at the memory. "i spent a very long time thinking it was all meaningless and maybe we are, in the grand scheme of things, but what a horrible way to live. we matter because we matter to the people whose lives we touch. we matter because we are our humanity."

Neffatari Nzingha

☉

she follows dutifully, but her mind drifts. there is power in knowledge, and in innovation, yes, but she's a tactile person. and she's always kept her head down instead of staring into distant stars. this is where the fight is. not up there.

is it worth it, trying to save mossdeep?

"all of this information, i assume it's archived? there are digital copies?" telescopes can be rebuilt. she smiles apologetically. 

"no, i think i've seen enough for the tour, but thank you."

Neffatari Nzingha

☉